ALBANY — If you haven't noticed, the UConn women exist in an alternate universe where the air is rarefied and expectations can be overwhelming.

Where else in college sports does the fan base make Final Four reservations in the time between turkey and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day?

"That's OK with me," Moriah Jefferson said Friday. "I'd rather be in the position where I'm expected to win than be in one where I have nothing to lose. I came here to be one of the best players in the country and play for the best team. There's pressure that comes with that, and it is something we've all embraced."

And UConn (34-1) has delivered again.

On Saturday, the Huskies play in their 22nd consecutive regional semifinal, this time against Texas (24-10) at the Times Union Center. For the Longhorns, a national powerhouse in the 1980s, it is their first Sweet 16 game since 2004. And they are happy be there.

Maya Moore turns 26 in June, which proves again how fast time flies when you are traveling the world winning championships. She added another travel sticker this month by helping Shanxi win its third consecutive Women's Chinese Basketball Association title.

"I have always tried to seek out opportunities...

Maya Moore turns 26 in June, which proves again how fast time flies when you are traveling the world winning championships. She added another travel sticker this month by helping Shanxi win its third consecutive Women's Chinese Basketball Association title.

"I have always tried to seek out opportunities...

(JOHN ALTAVILLA)

"I got up this morning very excited about our team being in the Sweet 16," Texas coach Karen Aston said. "It's a huge challenge we have ahead us, but the team is in such a good place now. It's the type of feeling you want to have at Texas."

The Longhorns, the fifth seed in the Albany Regional, began the season 13-0 before falling on hard times beginning with a loss at Iowa State on Jan. 10. They lost seven of their next nine after that. They have had injuries, most principally to senior Nneka Enemkpali, who was leading the Big 12 in rebounding when she was lost for the season on Jan. 19.

But they are back, albeit winners of NCAA games over Western Kentucky and California by a total of just five points.

"I feel like the team has been reinvented two or three times," Aston said. "It's the best way I know to describe the season. The loss of Nneka was such an emotional blow for us. It took some time to recover. And that reinvention was in just the time it took for others to accept different roles."

The Huskies, the two-time defending national champions who have played in seven straight Final Fours, have not lost a Sweet 16 game since Stanford knocked them out of the Kansas City Regional in 2005.

This season they have won 33 straight following their only loss in two years, in overtime at Stanford on Nov. 17. Texas followed that by beating Stanford in overtime at Maples Pavilion just three days later, then beat Tennessee by 13 only 10 days later.

Meanwhile, had UConn not lost it would be riding an 81-game winning streak, just nine away from tying its NCAA record set just four years ago.

Now, the talk is about meeting — and perhaps — exceeding whatever comes a close second to perfection on the way to a 10th national championship.

"Back in the early days, the kids we recruited were all based on projection," Geno Auriemma said. "We hoped they'd be good. We hoped they worked hard. We hoped they would get better so that we could beat teams that were better than us. Back then, you had to hope they exceeded expectations."

This season's team has performed right on point, with all five starters averaging double-figure points and all but Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis with at least 100 assists. And she is just seven away from becoming the fifth. She is also six three-pointers from tying the NCAA career record (392) after making five in the second-round win over Rutgers.

While the task is Texas super sized for the Longhorns, particularly dealing with UConn's defense, the Huskies will face a big front line highlighted by 6-foot-5 center Kelsey Lang and 6-7 Imani McGee-Stafford, the daughter of former Olympian Pam McGee.

"That definitely puts into perspective how well I need to play," said UConn's Kiah Stokes. "I just need to make sure they don't catch the ball in the block. And I need to make sure that I rebound. You need to be physically a bigger presence.

"And I am sure they are probably thinking they want to pound the ball inside on us, get me and Stewie [Breanna Stewart] in foul trouble. We need to be in the game, stay in the game and make sure they don't get easy layups against us."

Dealing with a player as long as McGee-Stafford will not be a new experience, either. In last year's Sweet 16 in Lincoln, Neb., the Huskies faced BYU's 6-8 center Jennifer Hamson. Hamson gave Stefanie Dolson and Stokes, who played 15 minutes, all they could handle by getting 13 rebounds and blocking six shots. But the Huskies still won by 19.

"The pressure of playing games like this is what makes it fun for us," UConn's Morgan Tuck said. "It means something. And when you are in situations like this, the best usually comes out. Every possession matters. And that's what makes the fun even more fun."